


Runaway Royalty

by ParadoxProphet



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Alternate Universe - Royalty, But I've left it open-ended in case people want me to continue, F/M, In which case the tags will change, Nifelhiem Prince Prompto, Self-Insert, So this might turn into a multi-chapter fic at that point, This is intended to be a one shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:58:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11145156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadoxProphet/pseuds/ParadoxProphet
Summary: Princess Katia of Lucis had no intention of marrying someone she didn't know, especially the prince of Nifelhiem.Prince Prompto of Nifelhiem knows the truth behind the supposed peace treaty and doesn't want any part of it, so he escapes from home.One would think their paths were not meant to meet, but fate has a way of turning the tides in unexpected ways.





	Runaway Royalty

**Author's Note:**

> So as I've mentioned in the tags, this is meant to be a one-shot, but I do have some ideas for this story so if enough people are interested I'll make it into a multi-chapter fic. There's a different story involving the Nif Prince Prompto AU that I have in mind, but I'm willing to do change my plans if that's the case. So if this caught your interest, let me know if you want to see it continue!

This was total bullshit.

Katia knew that being the next in line to the Lucian throne wasn't easy, living the life of a princess wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But hearing this? This was completely different. They'd lost the war with Nifelhiem, and were now being forced to sign a peace treaty. Not only were they losing all land that was not the capital city, but the deal required her to get married to their prince, some guy she didn't even know and didn't want to. She had already assumed he'd be just like his father Emperor Aldercapt, a man hungry for power and control. While the idea of marriage had never crossed her mind, she certainly didn't want to be married to someone like that.

But being who she was, she didn't have a choice in the matter. It was for the good of the Kingdom, that's what her father had said anyway. So here she was, stuck in the car with her entourage, on her way to Altissa to meet her soon-to-be husband. "Just so you all know, I am _not_ happy about this." she pouted as she stared out at the landscape passing by her.

"Yes Katia, you've made that exceedingly clear by this point." Ignis, her royal adviser since she was three, responded.

"Honestly, you couldn't make that any more clear if you tried." Gladiolus, her personal bodyguard and trainer, added on.

"I mean, you're acting like this is the end of the world or something, Kat." Noctis, her best friend since high school, chimed in.

Katia turned to the backseat where he was casually resting, probably trying to fall asleep no doubt. "That's easy for you to say, you're not the one getting married here," she said. "So tell me again why we know next to nothing about my betrothed again?"

"Aldercapt's son isn't out in the public eye," Ignis explained, almost as if he'd memorized this information before hand. She wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. "It is known that he exists, but it would seem that Aldercapt has sheltered him and does not let him leave the castle. He's so isolated that finding out anything about him is an exercise in futility. All that could be found is that he is around your age. Everything else is just rumors."

For a brief moment, Katia felt sorry for him. His life was the complete opposite of hers. Her father had allowed her to live her life, even sending her to a public school instead of some fancy private place. But this guy didn't have any freedom. She couldn't imagine what that was like.

"We don't even have a name?" Gladio asked.

"I'm afraid not." Ignis said.

"Well that sure is helpful." Noctis remarked.

"I'll say. How are we even supposed to know who he is when we get there?" Katia asked, her sour attitude returning.

"Nifelhiem's chancellor will be with him. He will be waiting for us and will be our key to meeting the prince in person," Ignis answered. "And Katia, at least pretend to be nice to him."

"I can't make any promises, sorry." Katia said.

The car pulled in to Galdin Quay, their only stop before getting on the boat to Altissia. "Finally, I thought we'd never make it!" Noctis said as the group stepped out. "Mind if we chill out for a little while? I need to stretch my legs before I have to sit on a boat for who knows how long." Katia had to suppress a smile. Thank the Six Noctis was here, she was running out of reasons to stall the trip any more than they had. She didn't care if Noctis was making shit up or telling the truth, she'd be happy with just an hour of freedom.

"He's got a point. No reason to jump on the boat straight away after all." Gladio added.

Ignis sighed. "I suppose we can wait here for a while. I should check the boat schedule anyway so we know when to leave. We'll meet back here in an hour. Until then, feel free to explore, but don't leave the resort." He glared over at Katia in particular.

"Oh come on, Iggy. Like I'm gonna try to sneak away by myself without any way to get back home," she said. "Anyway, see you guys in an hour!" Without waiting to hear another word, she ran off towards the beach, hoping to relax with her hour of freedom in hand.

However, fate had a different idea in store for her. Upon separating herself from the guys and thinking about what to do first, she felt her arm being grabbed and turned her head to see some random guy holding on to her. "Hey! Sorry, no time to explain! I need you to come with me!"

Before she could object, she found herself randomly being dragged away by this strange guy. They kept running until they reached the dock, hiding under it as the guy tried to catch his breath. "Who the hell are you, and why did you just drag me underneath the dock?" Katia asked.

The looked at her with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that," he tried to apologize. Now that they weren't running, Katia could make out what he looked like. He had messy blond hair, styled in a way that reminded her of a chocobo, his blue eyes seemed to reflect an air of innocence, which was only enhanced by the freckles littered around the bridge of his nose. He was actually adorable, but she had to shake those thoughts out of her head. She was about to get married soon, she couldn't be hooking up with some random guy at a time like this no matter how cute he was. "I was just in a hurry to find someone and you were the first person I spotted."

"Why were you in such a rush?" Katia asked, trying not to stare at his face.

"It's a long story," the young man responded. "You wouldn't even believe me if I told you. Let's just say I'm hiding from someone who's following me."

"Alright, fair enough. I'm not gonna force it out of you," Katia said. "What's your name though, I kinda need to know that."

"The name's Prompto. Prompto...Argentum! Yeah, that's it," he introduced himself. It almost seemed like he was trying to think of something in that moment, but it wasn't worth prying into. "What about you?"

Katia froze. She was technically supposed to be incognito right now, but she was terrible at coming up with a fake name. That and this guy seemed trustworthy. She had no idea why, she'd only known him for five seconds, but this Prompto probably wouldn't tell anyone who she was. But she had to make sure. "Okay, don't go telling anyone this though," Before he could ask what she meant, she continued. "I'm Katia."

It only took a second for it to click in Prompto's head and he looked at her with surprise. "Wait, you mean Katia Lucis Ferrum, don't you?!" he asked.

"Yep! That's me!" she said. "Princess of Lucis, heiress to the throne, and a bargaining chip."

\--------------------------------

Prompto seemed to be at a loss for words, only able to stare forward at the cute girl he had grabbed by chance. Out of all the people he had to run into, it just had to be his fiance. Or rather, that's what the lie was.

Being Emperor Aldercapt's son, Prompto knew what was really going on. The peace treaty was a farce, the marriage a sham. It was all an excuse to attack Insomnia, steal the Crystal, and eliminate the line of Lucis. His father had never planned to make peace, all he wanted was the crystal. But Prompto wanted no part in this plan, so he escaped Nifelhiem in the hopes of sending a warning of some sort. In hindsight, he hadn't really thought his plan through all that much, so now he had just been running as far as he could. But he never expected to meet the princess in person, especially not like this. This could be a good thing though, he just had to see where this encounter went.

"Anyway, um, w-what are you doing here in Galdin?" he asked, praying to the Six he didn't sound too flustered or suspicious. The last thing he wanted right not was to scare her away.

"I'm heading to Altissia, or at least I'm supposed to," Katia explained. "Then I'm gonna get married."

"Oh yeah, because of the peace treaty, right?" Prompto asked, receiving a nod from the princess. "You don't sound too happy about it though."

"You got that right, I'm not," Katia said. "I don't even know a thing about the guy I'm supposed to marry! But knowing my luck, he'll probably end up being a total jackass."

"What makes you say that?" Prompto asked, nervous to hear her answer.

"I...I don't know..." Katia mumbled. "I guess I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing, if that makes any sense. I mean, a sheltered prince who's never left Nifelhiem? How am I supposed to feel about that? There's no information about him, and I'm just supposed to accept that he's gonna be my husband? That doesn't sound fair to me. I didn't ask to be the heiress after all," She suddenly stopped in the middle of her rant. "Oh Six, I'm sorry, I just started rambling on to you and you didn't even ask and-"

Prompto stopped her by suddenly grabbing her hand. He wasn't even sure why he did it, he just felt worried about her. He wouldn't lie, the things she said concerning him hurt, but he couldn't really blame her. He had been sheltered, never allowed to leave his estate and kept away from the world. No one knew what he was like, her assumptions weren't without reason. But he couldn't just straight up tell her who he was, could he?

"I get how you feel, it isn't fair," he said. "But think about how he feels about all this. You think he enjoys being locked up like a caged bird, only to be told he has to marry someone he doesn't know either? You're both just pieces in the Empire's game, forced into this crappy position where neither of you can win."

"Hey, are you alright? Your hands are shaking," Prompto looked down and just as she'd said, his hands had started to shake without him even noticing. He hadn't realized just how this whole false marriage thing was making him feel until now. "Prompto, is there-"

"Well then, now that _that_ matter is settled, I should get back to my search." A voice from above drawled out. Prompto's eyes widened and he quickly placed his hand over Katia's mouth. As she was about to attempt to speak through his hand, he brought his finger to his mouth, silently telling her to be quiet. He knew that voice far too well, and just hearing it directly above him was enough to send shivers down his spine. He knew he was being followed ever since he'd escaped Nifelhiem, but he didn't realize his pursuer was Chancellor Izunia.

His footsteps echoed above them, as if he was pacing. "This really is quite troublesome," he mused. "How can this marriage continue without the beloved prince? It surely won't do for the princess and her entourage to arrive in Altissia if her betrothed isn't waiting for her," Prompto could feel his heartbeat racing. If he said too much, his cover would be blown, and who knew what Katia would do then? "No matter, he couldn't have gone too far. If he's not here in Galdin Quay, then I'm certain that he's close by. It's not like he has a means of transportation anymore. Perhaps he's on his way to Insomnia? In that case, I'll just run into him on my way there. Either way, Prince Prompto will not escape my sights for much longer." Ardyn chuckled to himself and walked away, until his laughter and his footsteps could no longer be heard by either of the royals.

Prompto panicked internally. That was exactly what he didn't want to hear from the Chancellor. Now Katia knew who he was, and it wasn't likely she would take it very well. He let go of her mouth, watching as she backed away from him. Just as he thought, she looked confused and hurt. "Prompto, who was that?" she asked. Well, no point in keeping quiet at this point.

"His name is Ardyn Izunia. He's the person I'm running from."

"Izunia? You mean Chancellor Izunia?"

"Yeah."

"And he said Prince Prompto, right? As in your name?"

"...Yeah, he meant me."

"What the... What's going on here?"

"Katia please, let me explain!" He had to tell her the truth, well, as much of the truth as he could. Hitting her with all of his father's plans probably wouldn't go over well with her. "It's true, I'm Prince Prompto Aldercapt, but you have to listen to me! Everything I said earlier is true! I don't want to be part of this marriage either! Not that it has anything to do with you, you seem like a nice and fun person to be around! But I've had no say in how I've gotten to live my life, I don't want to follow in my father's footsteps! I didn't want this life either! That's why I escaped, that's why I came here, I wanted to get as far away from Nifelhiem as possible and live a normal life! I'm sorry I lied, but I didn't know what else to do! I-"

"Woah, Prompto, calm down! You're crying!" Just like before, Prompto hadn't even realized he'd started crying until Katia told him and he wiped his face to find the warm tears falling from his eyes. He noticed that she didn't look upset anymore, it seemed more like she was worried. "It's not your fault, I'm not mad at you," she explained. "It's obvious that neither of us want to be in this situation, and you're definitely not the person I assumed you'd be. You seem to be a nice guy, and I wouldn't mind being your friend. But I'm not sure what we're going to do since I'm supposed to be going to Altissia to get married to you, and instead you're right here. And if what that Ardyn guy said is true, you can't really go anywhere either. We're kinda stuck."

She was right, going to Altissia was pointless now and she couldn't go back to Insomnia. It'd take a miracle for them to find a way out of this awkward position.

"You know Kat, it's not right for you to try and hook up with someone when you're about to get married." A voice Prompto didn't recognize snapped them both out of their thoughts. Standing outside was a young man with black hair and blue eyes, a smirk on his face as he looked over both of them.

"Dammit Noct, that's not what I was doing!" Katia shouted.

"Whatever you say. I won't tell anyone. Anyway, Ignis says that the boats aren't running right now. This reporter said he'd be willing to get us there if we got some rare stones for him, but Ignis wants your opinion on things. So wrap it up and get your ass back to the car before he actually shows some emotion, alright?"

"Okay then, be there in a sec," Katia sighed, as the young man walked away. "Well this just keeps getting more and more interesting."

"It's true, the boats aren't running right now," Prompto said. "Best case scenario, this reporter guy won't be able to get you out of here until tomorrow." And tomorrow would probably be when Insomnia's fall would happen.

"I can live with that," Katia said. The two of them got out from underneath the dock and started walking back to the car. Prompto wasn't sure why he was following her, but she hadn't objected so he didn't say anything. "Hey! I just had an idea!" she suddenly said. She turned around to face him. "Do you know how to fight at all?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Prompto said, he pulled out a gun he'd been keeping in a side holster. "I mean, I was trained in using firearms, but I don't think I'm very good with them."

"That'll work! I'm sure that's good enough!"

"Why do you ask?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to come with me!"

"Huh? But why?"

"Well, you can't stay here. Ardyn's going to realize sooner or later that you're probably still here and will probably force you back. And you can't leave on your own without transportation. But we have a car, and I'm sure you'll fit with the rest of the guys! I mean, we're gonna have to get married eventually, might as well take this chance of freedom to get to know each other."

"But what about when we get to Altissia?"

"We'll worry about that later. Like you said, it'll be at least until tomorrow before we can get there and that's if this guy can pull through for us. Besides, Ardyn can't look for you in Altissia if he's over here, so it's a win-win in my book!"

Prompto wasn't sure he really understood her reasoning, but it wasn't as if she was wrong. Besides, as terrible as it was to think about, they wouldn't even go to Altissia tomorrow if his fathers plan went through. So perhaps rolling with this weird plan would benefit them. "Alright, makes sense to me I guess!"

The pair made it to the car. Prompto saw not only the black-haired guy from before, but a large buff man with tattoos and a man wearing glasses as well. The man with glasses looked over at them, a raised eyebrow the only change in his stern expression. "Katia, who is this?" he asked. This guy was probably Ignis.

"His name's Prompto," Katia explained. "I ran into him on the beach and he said he wants to help us."

"Really now? And what's in it for him?" The burly man asked, his arms crossed. Prompto made a mental note that this guy was not to be messed with.

"Nothing. I just told him about the danger we've been getting into and he offered his services as a sharpshooter." Katia lied.

"He does have a gun on him," The black-haired guy, who Prompto remembered had been called "Noct", pointed out. "A guy like that might be useful, especially since I doubt those stones we have to find are gonna be easy to get."

Ignis sighed. "Katia, you know I dislike it when you lie to me. What is the real reason this Prompto wants to join us?"

"Damn, can't hide anything from you I guess," Katia admitted. "Prompto's running from someone and he doesn't have anywhere to go. He didn't do anything wrong, but he'll be in big trouble if he's caught. I can't stand here and do nothing, it wouldn't be right. I figure that if we take him with us to Altissia, maybe he'd be safer there. Please Ignis, can't he come with us?" Well, she wasn't exactly lying, but it wasn't the truth either.

"You gotta stop putting your heart on your sleeve like that. People'll take advantage of you like that." The buff man said.

"But isn't compassion key in being a good ruler?" Noct asked.

"Yeah, but Kat has this problem where she feels bad about everyone and wants to help them, even when she can't," The buff man stated. "She cares too much to the point that it's a flaw."

"No one asked you, Gladio." Katia said.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt if he came with us," Ignis finally spoke after spending his time thinking things over. "It's not as if he'd be traveling long, just until Altissia, correct?"

"Yeah, I'll get out of your hair then!" Prompto said, figuring that he should at least say something. If Katia kept talking for him than it was bound to look suspicious.

"So it's settled then! Prompto's coming with us! Now let's get those stones or whatever!" Katia said.

"Someone's in a better mood." Gladio said.

"I'm pretty sure I know why." Noct said, the smirk returning again. Katia punched him in the arm.

"No you don't Noct, just get in the car." Katia said.

Before they joined the others, Prompto took hold of her hand. "So when are we gonna tell them who I really am?" he asked in a whisper.

"I guess when they realize we're not gonna find the prince," Katia whispered. "Gladio might be a bit pissed, but I'm sure they'll understand."

"...Thank you again for doing this."

"No problem. Now let's go, we don't want them to get suspicious."

The two royals got in the car, and the group left to find the stones. Prompto felt a pang of guilt in his chest, but it was too late. The lie had already gotten to the point where it was. And it wasn't like he could tell them the fact that he knew the Empire's plans. He looked over at Katia, who was smiling in her set next to him. He couldn't deny it, she looked adorable. He began to wish that they were supposed to be married, he didn't think he'd mind if it was her. But it just wasn't meant to be. He knew it better than anyone.

The car drove off, the five unaware of what lied in store in their future.


End file.
